There are insecticides available today that destroy the mosquito at the larval or pupal stage. In most cases, the pests are dealt with by the use of chemical insecticides or varieties of the microorganism Bacillus thuringiensis. Some well known chemicals used in mosquito control are methoxychlor, malathion, methophrine, diflurbenzuron and diflorbensuron. The use of chemicals is effective and widely used, however there are many well known negative environmental side effects associated with their use. The conventional technique for mosquito control is to apply the chemicals, often in a floating format, to contact and poison the larvae and pupae floating at the surface of a body of water.
Other techniques for the destruction of mosquito larvae and pupae include those described in the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,947 describes a method in which a beta alcohol organic compound, is spread on a body of water containing mosquito larvae and pupae, to control the larvae and pupae.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,359 describes a system in which a water surface is covered with a layer comprising an insoluble mono-molecular compound, an insoluble foam or a duplex film, and a layer of larvae toxic chemical to control mosquitoes in their early stages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,614 describes a system in which hydrocarbon polymers such as ethylene-propylene and ethylenevinyl acetate compounds, along with a pesticide, are spread on the surface of a body of water to control mosquito larvae and pupae.
All of the above techniques use chemical insecticides that can be considered detrimental to the environment. The present invention is concerned with an alternative mosquito control system.